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A substrateless, flexible, and water-resistant organic light-emitting diode

Author

Listed:
  • Changmin Keum

    (University of St Andrews)

  • Caroline Murawski

    (University of St Andrews
    Kurt-Schwabe-Institut für Mess- und Sensortechnik Meinsberg e.V.)

  • Emily Archer

    (University of St Andrews)

  • Seonil Kwon

    (University of St Andrews)

  • Andreas Mischok

    (University of St Andrews)

  • Malte C. Gather

    (University of St Andrews
    University of Cologne)

Abstract

Despite widespread interest, ultrathin and highly flexible light-emitting devices that can be seamlessly integrated and used for flexible displays, wearables, and as bioimplants remain elusive. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with µm-scale thickness and exceptional flexibility have been demonstrated but show insufficient stability in air and moist environments due to a lack of suitable encapsulation barriers. Here, we demonstrate an efficient and stable OLED with a total thickness of ≈ 12 µm that can be fully immersed in water or cell nutrient media for weeks without suffering substantial degradation. The active layers of the device are embedded between conformal barriers formed by alternating layers of parylene-C and metal oxides that are deposited through a low temperature chemical vapour process. These barriers also confer stability of the OLED to repeated bending and to extensive postprocessing, e.g. via reactive gas plasmas, organic solvents, and photolithography. This unprecedented robustness opens up a wide range of novel possibilities for ultrathin OLEDs.

Suggested Citation

  • Changmin Keum & Caroline Murawski & Emily Archer & Seonil Kwon & Andreas Mischok & Malte C. Gather, 2020. "A substrateless, flexible, and water-resistant organic light-emitting diode," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-20016-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20016-3
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